Royal Enfield

When everything that’s old is new again, don’t throw away the past, just make it infinitely better and a hell of a lot more fun. The Royal Enfield single cylinder might be one of the most instantly recognisable engines in all of motorcycling history but it has a new sibling that joins the thunderous thump with a roaring rumble…

In a world full of creative minds, he is a true renaissance man who doesn’t produce works of art to impress but simply because he is driven to. The ideas inspired by the world around him are manifest in metal with a dedication to perfection, a standard he demands of himself. He is Max Hazan…

Old motorcycles, while they may look like heaven in the fancy studio shots you’ll often see, can be right little bastards in the flesh. Their exorbitant cost, oil leaks, starting issues and inexplicable breakdowns are enough to challenge even the most even-tempered of riders…

It’s not everyday you receive an email asking if you’d be interested in going to India to ride Royal Enfields across the Rajasthan desert with a film crew and a professional photographer. That’s exactly what happened at the end of last year: I received an email from a guy called Matt from Nevermind Adventures. He runs organized motorcycle adventure tours all over India. Only a fool would think about it for just a second. I thought about it for two, and replied: ‘When do we leave?’.

Indonesian custom bike building. It probably brings to mind images of hand-beating metal parts while enjoying a beer and the sun in a tropical paradise. But if it did, you’d be dead wrong. Because for Ram Ram Junuar of Bandung’s White Collar Bikes, only the latest and greatest techniques will do. So with processes that would put most Western shops to shame, he’s built this classic-meets-modern Continental GT for Royal Enfield Indonesia.

Royal Enfield is on a mission of late, to take one of the world’s oldest marques and push it back up the motorcycle food chain. Firmly in their sights is UK powerhouse Triumph with a number of key personnel recently poached for Enfield’s future expansion. However in the meantime the introduction of the Himalayan gives the company an incredibly priced entry into the highly competitive Adventure bike class. A type of machine that rarely gets modified, short of throwing on heated grips, panniers and other such purposeful yet uninspiring additions. But someone forgot to tell Brothers Rahul and Birju of Sinroja Motorcycles who have dealt their second ace to complete a pair of pocket rockets, this time a custom Himalayan for all occasions, meet The Gentleman Brat.

In a strange kind of synchronicity, Brothers Rahul and Birju Sinroja were 16 years old when their family upped and moved them from India to England. Now they’re producing custom Indian motorcycles for Brits. The first of which is this incredible Royal Enfield Continental GT dubbed the ‘Surf Racer’ – one of a pair of Enfield specials produced for the Wheels and Waves festival.

Pipeburn was lucky enough to be invited by Royal Enfield to attend the 2017 Wheels & Waves show in Biarritz. While we did our fair share of socialising and sun soaking, we were also there to document something a little special. For the 2017 show, Royal Enfield teamed up with Leicester shop Sinroja Motorcycles to make not one, but two custom bikes especially for the event.

The Royal Enfield motorcycle has long occupied the imagination of millions of Indian motorcyclists, and the company has earned a cult-like following around the world. The motorcycles earn their popularity because of their old school designs, the thumping engine, and a real hand built feel. But more than anything, it’s the bike’s ability to be customised that makes us love it so much. It has served as the chassis to build dream motorbikes for thousands of custom bike builders just like me. So here’s my story.